Heating apparatus for burning a liquid fuel spray



G. A. G|LLEN` June 2s, 1949.

HEATING APPARATUS FOR BURNING A LIQUID FUEL SPRAY 4Filled Dec. 12, 1944INVENTOR. @fa/Mae f/z L EA/ Patented `une 28, 1949 UNITED STATES. PATENTceri-ce HEATING APPARATUS FQEBUBNING A VLIIIJID FUEHSPEAY lGeorge A.Gillen,ironx, N. Y.

A,loplioationv December 12, 1.944, .Serial No. fiS

(ol: 15s-4i i 1 Glaim. vl

The invention .herein .disclosed relates to heating apparatus generally.

Objects of the invention are to .accomplish Vboth more efficientcombustion and Ymore effective transfer of heat from the combustionproducts to a surrounding media, such as Water in a boiler `or lthelike.

Particularly it is an -object -of the invention to accomplish abetten-.more :thorough and vmore uniform admixture .of lairand uo-ilfuel .and to maintain that .mixture .during flame .propagation in acontinuing state Aand socontrolled vand -conned yas to best effect the.desired heat exchange.

Other and vmore specific objects, as well `as the novel features bywhich the purposes Aof the invention are attained, will appear or airedefl- .nitely set forth in the course of the following specification.

The drawing .accompanying 1and formi/ngcpart of the specificationillustrates -present practical embodiments .of the invention 'fb-ut assuch illustration is primarily. for 4purposes of disclosure it will be.recognized .that structure may be modied `and changed as regards theillustration, yall within the true intent and broad scope of theinvention as hereinafter dened `and claimed.

Fig. 1 in the drawing `is alblroken vertical ysectionalview .of aheating unitfembodying features of the invention;

Figs, 2 and 3 are broken transverse sectional views of the same as onsubstantially the plane of lines 2-2 and 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a broken longitudinal sectional View of a modified form of theinvention;

Fig, 5 is a transverse sectional View as on substantially the plane ofline 5-5 Iof Fig. 4.

Fig. 1 illustrates a heating unit of the hot water oir steam boiler typehaving a water space 'I through which extends a submerged horizontalcylindrical chamber 8.

This chamber may have a lining of stainless steel, porcelain, fire clay,tile, brick or other suitable heat transfer medium 9.

Projecting into one end of the cylindrical combustion chamber described,and extending to near A the opposite end Iof the same is an air supplytube or conduit I0. A suitable source of air supply such as a blower II,is connected with the outer end of tube I0.

In the opposite end polrtion of the chamber, spaced from and oppositethe open end of the air tube, is a fuel injector shown as of the typedisclosed in the George A. Gillen Patent No. 2,107,891 of February 8,1938, and comprising a piston sleeve I2 operating in a'casing I3, saidsleeve having 2 atomizing ports `I4 which will be opened to dischargefuel between the end of the casing and the head I5 of thesleeve when thesleeve is pro- .ieoted against the tension of the retreating Spring nbypressure of. the oil in the central nozzle tube I6. In the illustrationoil .is Vsumolied through pipe |51 into the Central nozzle portion ofthe injector. from. .a suitable pump indicated at I8.

The end wallof the chamber Ashown as annularly concave at 'I8 about theinfector. with the bead .of the .in ieoter .centrally disposed at thecrest 0f the :inner .rimof the annulus, to form a flow reversing bailleand deector, and a Acontrol forbreanung theatomized yfuel off into thevortex of the reversed .air flow.

.Rroner .admxture of .airand fuel also is. aided by .provisiony.of an:exhaledeolorv iiaring rim 2.0 .on the end, ,ofv .the ailr tube. whichmay. be .angled .or curved more or less complementary to ,themirvatureat I9, to confine, guilde .and more or -less resti-iet the reversed owand to sheet ,it into an annular stream against .the .oylindricm .wallof the. chamber.

The air tube. spaced as. .it is within the cylindrical chamber. forms.an elongated annular combustion space .2l about the same, confining*thev products, ,of combustion .for their flu-1:1 length `of rtrai/,elfthe Combustion. chamber against the .ewndfioal wall of that. .chamberfand', at .the inside, against the wall of the :air tube. In this manneran effective double heat exchange is accomplished, from the burningproducts of combustion outwardly to and through the surrounding wall ofthe chamber to heat the water or other medium about that chamber, andinwardly to and through the wall of the tube to thoroughly andcontinuously heat the entering air being supplied to the injector.

In this manner controlled combustion and continuing substantiallyuniform flame propagation can be regulated and maintained.

With combustion completed the products are permitted to escape from theelongated annular combustion space, at the end opposite the injector,through the exhaust pass 22, opening into a horizontal ilue 23 leadingto a stack or other outlet 24.

Heat extraction means may be disposed in any or all of the passages lastdescribed, for example as transverse passages 25, extending across thehorizontal flue 23 and open at opposite ends to the water or othermedium within the boiler or encasing structure 26. These transversepassages may be disposed in oiset relation, as indicated in Fig. 1, soas to serve as bales and control defiectors for the escaping ue gases.

To prevent any dead pockets at the exhaust end of the combustionchamber, the wall at that end may be annularly concaved as indicated at21, to reverse and direct the flow to the discharge outlet.

For additional control purposes the air tube, instead of beinghorizontal and coaxial with the combustion chamber, may be inclined asindicated in Figs. 4 and 5, extending on an upward incline from theentrance end so as to direct the products of combustion largely downwardat the mixture forming and ignition end so as to fully reach andtraverse all portions of the bottom of the combustion chamber and to beforced laterally over such bottom wall by the gradually reduced crosssectional area. below the air tube in the direction of flow toward theoutlet end of the chamber. This eccentricity also provides increase inspace above the tube in the direction of ow toward the outlet.

The invention provides both an ample supply of air and the completepreheating of that full volume of air before admixture with the fuel.The flow of incoming air practically the full length of the combustionchamber enables preheating or superheating suicient to eiect propercombination with any of the low grade, as well as medium or better gradefuels. The contra ow of air and fuel and the reversal of ow of theinjected air at and about the atomized fuel admitted into the bowlformation I9, Fig. 1, and |911, Fig. 4, at the end of the chamberassures thorough and substantially uniform and complete mixture andflame propagation.

Suitable means such as a spark plug indicated at 28 may be provided forignition, this being usually located in the circular cavity surroundingthe injector and atomizer.

What is claimed is:

Heating apparatus comprising an elongated, substantially horizontallyextending, substantially cylindrical combustion chamber having an outletat one end, an air supply tube entered through said outlet end of saidcombustion chamber and extending to near the opposite end of thecombustion chamber, said air supply tube spaced from the surroundingwalls f the combustion chamber and providing therewith an annularcombustion space substantially the full length of the combustionchamber, a flow reversing baiiie at the last mentioned end of thecombustion chamber opposite the discharge end of the air tube andarranged to reverse ow from said air tube and direct the same back intothe annular combustion space surrounding said tube, a fuel injector atthe center of said baflie and directed toward the discharge end of saidair supply tube and means connected with the outer end of said tube forforcing a supply of air through said tube to said flow reversing bailleand fuel injector at the far end of the same and whereby injected fuelwill be combined with preheated air issuing from the air supply tube andthe combination be caused to burn as a combustible mixture in theannular combustion space about the air tube, irnparting heat interiorlyto the air supplied through the air tube.

GEORGE A. GILLEN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 38,791 Shaw June 2, 1863 946,310Archer Jan. 11, 1910 990,150 Liddell Apr. 18, 1911 1,095,903 MatthewsMay 5, 1914 1,434,021 Orr Oct. 31, 1922 1,441,978 Gibbs Jan. 9, 19231,615,222 Greenwood J an. 25, 1927 1,699,732 Balmat Jan. 22, 19291,724,783 Smallwood et al. Aug. 13, 1929 1,734,310 Taylor Nov. 5, 19291,838,266 Kreager Dec. 29, 1931 1,983,386 Mikeska Dec. 4, 1934 2,097,153Greenawalt Oct. 26, 1937 2,164,225 Walker June 27, 1939 2,189,532 Garsonet al Feb. 6, 1940 2,228,324 Norton Jan. 14, 1941 2,257,548 FischerSept. 30, 1941 2,268,068 Deming Dec. 30, 1941 2,269,831 Senner et alJan. 13, 1942 2,319,711 Van Almelo May 18, 1943 2,362,571 McCollum Nov.14, 1944

